Just got done skinning and sanding the top and bottom of my board today and figured–after years of lurking–it was time to make a post.
The board is obviously a fat, ghetto, backyard shaped egg–just how I like it. I’m really not sure what I’m going to do with it as far as rails, bottom shape, and fins go. I’ve just been playing with it as I go. I just like simplicity, and this is what I’ve been going for. She’s about 7’ long, 21 1/4" wide and 2 5/8" thick.
Let me know what you all think about it as I’m open to any advice at all. The next step is getting the rail bands going. I’m not going to lie, I’m a little nervous about it. Whatever happens happens though.
I’ll post more pictures as the project progresses. Overall I’m stoked.
That’s a nice looking outline. My only advice would be to give it a bit more thought and planning, not so much “playing with it as you go”. Make sure you have your thickness foil finished and bottom contours decided upon and shaped before you turn the rails. In other words, once you start on the rails, it’s pretty hard to go back and make adjustments. If you have any shaping videos, watch them multiple times, take note of the order in which things are done. Of course it doesn’t have to be perfect, but remember, there will only be one first board!
Hey thanks man for the advice. I know what you mean–take it slowly and thoughtfully. I’ve watched the JC videos a few times, and I continue to watch them. They’re a must for sure. The past two days, I’ve been working on the foil–while figuring out how the planer feels and what not. My philosophy on the whole deal is art first, then craftsmanship and engineering. This is more of my odd creation to me and all the technicalities will be picked up as I go. I’m not planning on selling any boards. If anything, I’d give them away to poor kids. It’s therapy, and I like it plain and simple.
I’m thinking about keeping the rails soft and the bottom mostly flat. Any advice on bottom and rail shape based on the outline would be greatly appreciated. Thanks again Ted G.
Nice outline! Keep it simple. Check the flat bottom for even rocker, high and/or low spots. Shape a bevel/tuck to the underside. I fade mine from a 90 degree edge in the tail area to the deepest bevel midships fading to an edge in the nose. Soften as desired with sandpaper or screen wrapped around soft upholstery foam. Check Bill Barnfield’s XLNT pic on rail bands.
Hey Zander;
That’s a great outline! My suggestion, in addition to
what has already been said, is to draw out on a sheet of
graph paper what you would like the rails to look like in the
middle of the board. Then draw in the max bands u would
need to cut that rail. You might need 2 main deck bands,
or three if the shape dictates that. It will also give you a good
idea on the bottom band. When you are ready, mark out the
primary band “a la Bill B” and cut it!
Something I do especially on a new design is to cut all the
deck bands (including the smoothing bands) so they are foiled
into the tail & deck. Then I rough smooth with 80 grit screen
before I cut the bottom bands. (this is on flat/concave bottoms).
I hope this helps, keep posting pictures as you go!
Flat to vee bottom is easy and effective. Or you could roll a little belly in it.
Rails could either be no edge in the tail, to soft tucked edge through the middle, fading to soft and round in the nose… or soft the whole way. I’d do the tucked edge thing, but that’s a bit more of a challenge for a first timer.
Sorry, I didn’t log back in till now, you’re probably already done with your rails. All good advice above. My advice, if you haven’t started in yet, would be to follow the JC video for the rails. Do a straight up modern tuck under edge bottom like in the video, turn the top rails just like in the video. I think this will work fine for an egg*, and since it is your first, I can’t emphasize enough how fortune we current beginners are in being able to watch a pro on a video instead of trying to figure out the basics ourselves. If you are going thruster set up, go ahead and add in a little double barrel concave in the tail if you feel confident. But a totally flat bottom will work. It really helps to have your favorite board (or the one you are trying to emulate) on hand to refer to on the fine points like bottom contour, nose tip, etc.
*One thing about the video I’ve noticed - he never says exactly how thick the blank is when he puts in the guide marks up from the bottom - 1 1/8 to 1 1/4 as I recall. I’m sure the finished board in the video is going to be around 2 1/2 thickness or less since it’s obviously a 6’1" or so chip. So if you use his deck measurements for band guides, and your board is closer to a 3" foil in the middle, it will work, you’ll just end up with a domed deck. Trust me, no matter how hard you try to copy his every move, your board will still have your artistic mark on it!
Hey everyone thanks for the help. I finally got to the rails today after having some foil trouble. They are pretty much 60/40 through most of the board with an edge in the tail. The nose rails are round. The bottom is almost totally flat with some V in the tail–although I accidentally but some concave in the nose, but now it is too thin to flatten it out.
I kind of made the nose too thin. Doesn’t look very eggy to me. Oh well. Overall, I am happy with the results so far. Tomorrow, I will finish up the shaping. Hopefully next week, I can do some glassing.
Here are some pictures of the board. Any fin ideas would be appreciated. I originally wanted to make a single fin. I like single fins. The picture looks a little distorted because the board was leaning against the wall. All I need to do now is fix up the nose and tail and sand her down with the foam and 180 sanding screen. She’s far from perfect, but I’m stoked.
If it were me, I’d go with a fin box to try different fins as a single, and add boxes for side bite experimentation. I’ve never had a board with LokBox or ProBox (guess I need to get with the program) but I think both allow some fore and aft adjustments with the side fins. That would be good. Or I guess FCS plugs are cheapest.
Thanks. I’m going to go with an Ofishl center box for now. I would say its 99% shaped as of this afternoon. I just need to knock down some imperfections with the 180 screen. Then it will be ready for glassing. I will add pictures later today.
99.8% done shaping. Just need to scrub out some scuffs and knock down the tail. Then I’m gonna glass it. I was thinking 2x6oz on the top and one 6oz on the bottom. I like heavy boards with lots of momentum. I don’t know if a 6 on the top and bottom with a patch on the deck would be better though. Thanks for the help.
